A Florida jury found Kamal Padlowski, 52, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Melvin Jimenez, 47, following a fight at a Ruskin marina over Memorial Day weekend 2024.

The decision was made after less than three hours of deliberation and was supported by surveillance footage that recorded part of the confrontation and the defendant's subsequent actions. Padlowski will be sentenced on August 17 and faces a sentence of life imprisonment.

Video shows the moment the victim was thrown into the water

Recordings presented during the trial show both men struggling on a wooden dock after they had been drinking together.

During the fight, Padlowski pushed Jimenez, who fell violently backward and hit his head on the dock, leaving him unconscious.

The images show that, moments later, the accused grabbed the victim by the legs and threw him into the water of the marina without checking if he was still conscious or could get out on his own. Before leaving the scene, he also threw Jimenez's shoes into the water and walked away.

The defense claimed self-defense

During the trial, Padlowski claimed that he acted out of fear for his physical integrity and denied having any intention of killing Jimenez.

According to his testimony, both met hours before at a tiki bar and later continued consuming alcohol on board their boat along with his fiancée.

The defendant testified that Jimenez became aggressive, refused to leave the boat and allegedly pushed his fiancée before threatening him and warning that he would rape the woman. Padlowski's fiancée did not testify during the court process.

Padlowski maintained that after the struggle, he believed Jimenez was still alive and had simply swam away.

The prosecution maintained that the victim was still alive

Prosecutors noted that the recordings do not show the beginning of the argument, but do capture Padlowski hitting Jimenez and holding him by the neck before the fall.

The defense presented the testimony of doctor and pathologist Edward Willey, who stated that the fall caused vertebral fractures and fatal injuries to the victim's neck, so she would have died before being thrown into the water.

However, the prosecution disputed that conclusion, noting that Willey did not perform the official autopsy.

According to the forensic examination presented at trial, Jimenez lost consciousness after the blow, but was still alive when he was thrown into the marina. The official cause of death was established as drowning.

The victim's family rejected the accused's version

After the verdict was announced, Melvin Jimenez's wife, Angela Sprenger, stated that she does not believe the version offered by the accused during the trial and accused him of lying about what happened before the fight.

The victim's daughter, Kimberly Jimenez, also intervened in court and stated that the decisions made by Padlowski that night caused her father's death.